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Most buyers should pick GitHub Copilot.
Choose Amp when the work needs persistent agents that keep running after you close your laptop, or when your team wants shared threads and self-hosted orbs. Choose GitHub Copilot for agents that start with GitHub issues, pull requests and repository context, and continue across the CLI, editor, web and mobile. Copilot has a free tier and published individual plan prices; Amp’s hosted-orb usage is pay-as-you-go on Hobby, with the rate not published.
01Side by side
| Amp | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hobby free; Individual $20/month; Enterprise custom. | Free; paid plans $10–$100/user/month. |
| Free tier | Hobby: all features; pay-as-you-go hosted orbs. | 2,000 completions/month; CLI and selected models. |
| Self-hosting | Unlimited self-hosted orbs on Hobby and Individual. | Local models via Ollama or Foundry Local. |
| CLI and docs | Docs linked; no CLI listed on homepage. | Copilot CLI install; CLI included in Free. |
| Integrations | ChatGPT, Claude, BYOK, Slack via MCP. | Connectors, MCP servers, skills, plugins, model providers. |
| Deployment model | Persistent agents run in hosted or self-hosted orbs. | GitHub cloud agent; local model options. |
| Platforms | Web. | Web, macOS, CLI, mobile, Slack, Teams. |
| Limits and scaling | 45,000 hosted-orb minutes on Individual; higher quotas on Enterprise. | Completion and AI-credit allowances vary by plan. |
Amp Choose Amp if
- Choose Amp if agents must keep running after your laptop closes.
- Choose Amp if your team wants shared threads, portals and permissions.
- Choose Amp if you want to bring your own model keys.
GitHub Copilot Choose GitHub Copilot if
- Choose GitHub Copilot if tasks start from GitHub issues or pull requests.
- Choose GitHub Copilot if you need to resume work across editor, CLI and mobile.
- Choose GitHub Copilot if you want published individual plan prices and a free tier.
02Pricing at real usage
Amp’s Hobby plan is $0/month and includes all product features, unlimited self-hosted orbs, and pay-as-you-go Amp-hosted orb time; the hosted-orb rate is not published. Individual is $20/month and includes 45,000 minutes of Amp-hosted orb time. Teams is listed at no extra charge, while Enterprise uses custom pricing.
Copilot Free is $0 and includes 2,000 completions/month. Pro is $10/user/month, with $15 in monthly AI credits and a $5/month additional flex allotment. Pro+ is $39 with $70 in credits and a $31 flex allotment; Max is $100 with $200 in credits and a $100 flex allotment. More AI credits can be purchased. Business pricing isn’t listed on the page; Enterprise is sales-priced. These are monthly prices; neither page lists annual discounts.
03API, SDKs and integration
Neither product page specifies a public API or language SDK, so we would treat both as developer workflows rather than libraries to embed. Amp’s site links to Chronicle, Docs, Models and Pricing; its product centers on agents running in orbs, with team-shared threads. The pricing page lists ChatGPT, Claude, other subscriptions and BYOK, while the homepage shows Slack through MCP. It does not name an SDK or programming-language client.
Copilot exposes a CLI, desktop app, editor, github.com and GitHub Mobile; sessions can start from issues and pull requests and continue across surfaces. Its page describes Copilot Connectors for external service data, plus MCP servers, skills and plugins discoverable on GitHub. Developers can connect supported cloud model providers with their own API key, or use local models with Ollama and Foundry Local. No specific connector or plugin count is published.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes a source-code licence or a data-export path for these products. Amp offers unlimited self-hosted orbs on Hobby and Individual, but that describes where agents run; it does not establish that Amp’s environment is open source or fully self-hostable. Copilot supports local models through Ollama and Foundry Local, but the page presents those as model options, not a self-hosted Copilot service.
The distinction matters: Amp lets teams supply runner capacity, while Copilot ties agent workflows to GitHub’s issue, pull-request and repository context. Before adopting either for long-lived work, ask about transcript and artifact export, retention and migration formats. Expect migration work if you move agent threads, permissions or automations between products; the vendors don’t document a portable format on these pages.
Questions people ask
Is Amp or GitHub Copilot cheaper?
Copilot has the lower published starting price for paid individual use: Pro is $10/user/month, compared with Amp Individual at $20/month. Amp Hobby costs $0, but hosted-orb time is pay-as-you-go and its rate is not published. Copilot’s free plan includes 2,000 monthly completions.
Can Amp agents keep working after you close your laptop?
Yes. Amp describes agents running in orbs that keep working after you close your laptop, and says you can continue from your phone. Amp also lists production monitoring, portal previews and team sharing among its capabilities.
Can GitHub Copilot work outside the editor?
Yes. Copilot sessions can continue across its app, CLI, editor, github.com and GitHub Mobile. The product page also describes a macOS desktop app and recurring agent tasks that can run on demand, on a schedule or from supported triggers.
Can either product run on self-hosted infrastructure?
Amp offers unlimited self-hosted orbs on Hobby and Individual, alongside Amp-hosted orbs. Copilot supports local models through Ollama and Foundry Local, but that is not the same as running the Copilot service or agent on self-hosted infrastructure.